Annual Gift Reaches $4.5 Million

The Pap Corps, Champions for Cancer Research has presented its largest annual gift ever, a check for $4.5 million, to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Presented at The Pap Corps President’s Meeting at the Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton on Thursday, May 15, the check is part of the group’s $25 million commitment to Momentum2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami.

“The Pap Corps has been there for Sylvester since the very beginning,” said Goodwin. “They have always been one of our greatest assets, and their hard work in support of our research has definitely saved lives!”

The Pap Corps has grown tremendously in both size and scope since its inception in 1952, but its mission has remained the same: to enable and support vital research that someday may lead to a world without cancer.

Nimer said the incredible fundraising done by The Pap Corps helps drive cancer research at South Florida’s only university-based cancer center. “As Sylvester continues its journey toward becoming a world-class cancer center, it is our dedicated faculty and staff, together with our biggest supporters, like The Pap Corps, who will enable Sylvester to attain this goal.”

Since it began under the leadership of five women, the organization has donated more than $50 million to cancer research at Sylvester. This year’s gift will provide critical seed money that scientists and researchers need to apply for grants from the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and other funding organizations.

“I am thrilled to present the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center with our biggest check ever, for $4.5 million,” Pap Corps President JoAnne Goldberg said. “We know that the money The Pap Corps raises each year enables the researchers and doctors to continue their work in the fight against cancer. I am truly overwhelmed by the dedication of The Pap Corps chapters in this accomplishment.”

The Corps is named for George Papanicolaou, who invented the Pap smear, a diagnostic tool used to detect cervical cancer. Papanicolaou was the former director of the then-Dade County Cancer Institute, which merged with UM’s original Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1984.

When Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center opened its new facility in 1992, the Papanicolaou research laboratories were relocated to UM’s medical campus. Sylvester has since opened Sylvester at Deerfield Beach, Sylvester at Kendall, Sylvester at Plantation, and Sylvester at Hollywood to better serve patients in southern Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.